European Armies and the Conduct of War

Published by Routledge, 1983, illustrated, index, 226 pages, some underlining and marginalia (in pencil), otherwise condition: very good.

Discussing the key issues of modern warfare, Hew Strachans work examines the theory and practice of land warfare in Europe since 1700. Looking at warfare in the context of social and political change, Dr. Strachan interprets his subject matter as widely as possible, and European Armies and the Conduct of War considers the roles of air power and the impact of the United States on European military developments. Through the eyes of the major theorists of the day, European Armies * how the social and political influences which shape armies, also mould the attitude of those armies to warfare
* the story of techicnal innovation
* the mounting pace of industrialization and its impact of warfare. Recent military history has tended to focus on the relationship between armies and society and there has been much original research on the subject of the conduct of war. This book brings these approaches together, providing information and insight vital to the study of this fascinating era.

This is a wonderful and concise account of how European's conception of land warfare shifted. It is not a minute study of tactics nor strategy, but a work that considers them on the whole. Strachan is at his best in describing the limitations of the figures involved and he is thankfully lacking in the tacit jingoism of most British military historians.